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FAQ's
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Question. What is the difference between 'Demanufacturing', 'Refurbishing' and 'Remanufacturing'?
Answer. Demanufactruing is the process of dismantling all of the components in electronic equipment to prepare for the next stage of recycling...electronic circuit boards are dismantled to recover components such as mercury, copper, lead, gold, silver and palladium, plastic is ground up and remolded and glass from CRT's is reprocessed and returned to commerce.
Refurbishing is the process of taking useful products discarded by those who no longer want or need them and providing them to those that do. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified this as a priority method of handling materials.
Remanufacturing is the process of upgrading a retired product or the use of parts from a retired system for use in a different product.
Question. How can I find out about federal government recycled product procurement guidelines?
Answer. Call the RCRA/Superfund hotline (800) 424-9346 to obtain EPAs Comprehensive Procurement Guideline covering paper and paper products, vehicular products, construction products, transportation products, park and recreation products, and non-paper office products. The hotline also rovides copies of the Recovered Materials Advisory Notices (RMANs), which contain EPAs purchasing recommendations.
Question. How do recycled content products perform?
Answer. Recycled content products perform as well as or better than their virgin counterparts. You do not need to compromise quality to purchase recycled products. In many cases, you will not be able to distinguish recycled content products from virgin products.
Question. What are the benefits of electronics recycling?
Answer. Just to name a few, recycling yields the following benefits: 1) A cleaner environment; 2) Computers and electronic equipment for schools, senior citizens, nonprofit organizations, low income families; 3) Computer/equipment repair training; and 4) Tax benefits for donors.
Question. What is Electronics Recycling?
Answer. Rather than pitching old computers, telephones, and other electronics equipment, corporations, businesses, individuals and government agencies are finding other uses for their obsolete inventory. These agencies are either refurbishing their equipment and placing them back into circulation, or donating the equipment to schools and/or nonprofit agencies, or they are routing the equipment to other agencies who can dismantle, separate, and recycle the plastics, glass, metals for use in new products.
Question. Why buy recycled products?
Answer. Purchasing recycled products creates markets for the covered materials used in these products. This action fosters sustainability and conserves natural resources and energy. In addition, purchasing recycled products promotes the continued manufacture of these products, thus completing the recycling loop.
Question. Who regulates the diposal of electronics?
Answer. The disposal of electronic components is governed by the Federal Resource Recovery and Conservation Act (RCRA), and is regulated by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency.
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